Toby and Dodger
by Cinomarsh
Summary: The title says it all; Toby meets Dodger after he kills... Well... You get the idea. Rated T because anything Sweeney is at least T.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again! Author here! Just popping in to say hi, and that I've started writing Oliver fics, as you may have noticed. I thought this might be a interesting concept so I decided to try it out. I don't own Oliver or Sweeney Todd. Please review nonetheless!**

"Are you sure this is alright?" Toby asked as he and his new companion strolled up and down the streets of London.

"Of course!" Dodger exclaimed with limitless enthusiasm. "He'll love to meet ya!"

Toby wasn't so sure. He was not a trusting person (and who could blame him?), but he had no intention of returning to the workhouse and he was all out of options. Plus, he liked his strange new friend, despite the fact that Dodger was probably a good two years younger than himself. The boy walked with confidance and behaved amicably, which Toby admired.

Dodger led him around a few corners, through a few alleys and up a rickety flight of stairs to the door of a building that looked ready to collapse at any moment. When Dodger knocked on the door, dust showered onto the two boys, making them cough.

"IT'S DODGER!" The boy yelled.

"I'm not deaf yet, boy!" A cracking voice yelled from inside.

Dodger pushed the door open to reveal an interesting type of living space. Blankets and clothes were strewn all about and pocket handkerchives hung from a line and the air smelled strongly of mold and sausages, making Toby want to vomit (something he'd been doing a lot of over the past twenty-four hours). It looked as if they were inside a very spacious attic, complete with a kitchen-type structure on the far wall and lots of sleeping spots. There were boys everywhere; sitting on the floor, climbing on the beams, smoking, doing all sorts of things. The chatter was deafening, but as soon as Dodger and Toby entered the room it fell silent.

A gangly, hunched figure emerged from the kitchen-hut at the back of the room. His beard was red but his head was bare, he wore a long green coat and his matching eyes were fixed on Dodger. The man gave Toby the shivers, especially when the man's piercing gaze rested on him instead.

"Dodger!" The man exclaimed in a voice that was cracked with age but suprisingly strong. "You didn't tell me you 'ad a new boy!"

"Where are my manners?" Dodger said with mock indignance. "This is a Mr. Tobias Ragg."

"Toby, if you like." Toby chimed in. He'd never liked Tobias. Too formal.

"Well then, Toby," the old man said, walking over to meet him, "My name's Fagin. I do hope to have the honor of your intimate aquaintance." Fagin and Toby shook hands.

There was an awkward silence. Toby was nervous that he'd done something wrong.

"I was wonderin' if it'd be alright for me to stay 'ere." Toby said, breaking the silence. "I've 'ad awful luck 'ere in London and I don't want to go back to the workhouse."

"Neither do I!" Shouted a boy at the other end of the room.

"Me neither!" Another shouted, followed by another and another and soon the whole room was in uproar again.

"QUIET DOWN!" Fagin shouted, and the voices died away.

"As you can see, Toby," he said, "Many of the boys 'ere are in a similar situation. I'm sure we can 'elp you."

"Thank you, sir!" Toby beamed. He knew he hadn't been here long, but at least he had somewhere to stay now.

"Sit down, lad," Fagin told him, "make yourself comfortable."


	2. Chapter 2

Dodger helped Toby find a spot in the huge room while all the boys happily went back to being loud and driving Fagin mad.

"'Ow old are ya?" Asked Dodger as they both took a seat on the floor.

"Thirteen." Said Toby. He had actually celebrated this year, he remembered distinctly. He and Mrs. Lovett had- No. He would not thinkabout her. Not now.

Dodger didn't notice the sudden change in Toby's mood.

"I'm eleven and a half!" He proclaimed, and Toby couldn't help but giggle at how proud he seemed to be of that fact.

"Where're ya from?" Dodger asked casually.

Toby swallowed the lump in his throat.

"London."

"Where?"

"Workhouse."

Dodger chuckled.

"Well, not when I met you. You were wanderin' about in the streets! You couldn't've escaped, so 'ow'd ya do it?"

Toby felt his stomach drop. He didn't want to relive his past, he really didn't, but he hadn't talked to anyone about it besides Mrs. Lovett, who was now a part of his traumatic past. He needed to talk to someone.

"I'll tell you, if you promise not to tell the police."

Dodger grinned and put a hand on his heart.

"On my life."

Apparently news traveled fast in this house, and as soon as Toby said he'd tell, every boy in the place had gathered around him, ready for a story. Toby sighed. If they wanted a story, then he had a hell of one to tell.

"Well, I started out in the workhouse. I was there since I was born, and when I was twelve a man who went by the name of Signor Pirelli came and took me away." Toby remembered that day. He'd been excited to leave the workhouse behind. He'd thought he was free. Little did he know how awful the next few months would be for him.

"I saw 'im once!" A boy with curly brown hair and a blue cap said from the middle of the crowd. "'E sells 'air tonic! 'E's a barber!"

The word "barber" made Toby flinch.

"Yes, 'e was. 'E took me from the workhouse and forced me to work for 'im. 'E'd hit me and yell at me all the time." Toby pulled up his sleeve to show his audience a couple of his scars. "'E was a monster."

The crowd responded to this section of the story with sympathetic murmurs. Dodger's eyes never left Toby.

"'Is 'air tonic didn't even work! It was just piss with ink."

The crowd laughed at this, and Dodger looked like he might pass out. Toby even chuckled a little, too, realizing how rediculous the whole scandal had been.

After the laugher died down, Toby continued.

"One thursday I was workin', sellin' the stuff to people, when a man and a woman who were watching noticed the smell and told off Pirelli. The man was also a barber, and he challenged Pirelli to a contest which, of course, Pirelli lost."

The crowd laughed again, motivating Toby to continue.

"Pirelli beat me worse than ever that night, but it was still wonderful how mad he was. About five days later, Pirelli took me to the barber shop of the man who beat him, and-"

Toby cut off mid-scentance. He couldn't stop them now. Images of her face flooded his mind, along with the sound of her voice and the smell of her pies. Then came the images of corpses and the sound of her screams.

"Toby?" Dodger asked, looked at him with a concerned expression. "Are you alright?"

Toby wasn't alright, but he nodded anyway. He knew he had to face it. He knew he had to tell them.

He had to tell them about his mum.


	3. Chapter 3

Toby took an unnecisarily deep breath.

"The barber's name was Mr. Todd. 'Is shop is above Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie imporium."

There was some chatter from the crowd; they'd clearly hear of her before.

"Pirelli went upstairs to talk to Mr. Todd and I stayed downstairs with Mrs. Lovett. She was kinder to me than anyone else ever 'ad been."

"What was she like?" Asked Dodger.

Toby let himself smile just a tiny bit. "She talked a lot and her shop was very dirty. She was practical and friendly and she was always so gentle and kind with me."

"Was?" A boy in the back asked.

Toby swallowed again.

"I'll get to that. We talked and she gave me some pie. It wasn't very good but it was the best I'd ever 'ad. I soon realized that Pirelli was late for an appointment, so I ran upstairs to tell 'im, but Mr. Todd said 'e'd left so I went downstairs to wait. Mrs. Lovett gave me some gin and I passed out in the parlor." Toby chuckled a bit.

"When I woke up, she was there, and she asked if I'd like to work for 'er instead of Pirelli. Of course I said yes, and so I stayed there. I never asked many questions."

Toby paused. He wondered where he'd be if he'd asked more questions. Dead? Probably. He shivered.

"Buisness picked up quickly. I wasn't sure how, but all of a sudden Mrs. Lovett and I had more customers than we knew what to do with. She treated me like her own child, and after a while I started to call her 'Mum', which was fine by 'er seein' as she didn't 'ave any kids."

The room was dead silent now, all eyes on Toby. They all knew this story wouldn't have a happy ending.

"Now I could tell from the moment I walked into the shop that Mrs. Lovett loved Mr. Todd. It was also obvious that 'e didn't care at all about 'er. I 'ated 'im for that, but after a while I started to notice 'ow strangely 'e'd been acting. 'E barely ever spoke and 'e never stopped pacin'. It was like 'e was posessed. One night I told Mu-" Toby caught himself.

"I told Mrs. Lovett that I thought 'e was up to something. She clearly didn't want to talk about it. I then saw that se had Pirelli's change purse," (the crowd gasped a little) "And she claimed it was a gift from Mr. Todd! Still she assured me I had nothing to worry about."

There was a long pause before Toby felt like he could being again, his breaths and his voice shaky.

"She took me into the bakehouse that night to show me 'ow to bake the pies. She told me she 'ad to go get something and she left me down there. After a while I got tired so I decided to take a break. I bit into a pie and... there was a finger in it."

This sent Toby's little audience insane. They didn't quiet down until Fagin yelled "SHUT UP" from the other end of the room. Toby took another huge breath and continued, his hands shaking now.

"There were bodies in the meat grinder, and as I was standin' there, another body fell from a chute in the ceiling. They were using the corpses of Mr. Todd's customers to make pies. That must've been what happened to Pirelli, as well."

The crowd erupted again, and Fagin once again yelled from the other room. Toby could barely hold it together.

"I tried to get out but the door was locked. I knew right then that she'd gone to get Mr. Todd to kill me. I hid in the sewers. She came looking for me and called for me, but 'e was there with 'er. 'E had a razor with 'im."

Silence.

"They gave up after a while. I followed them back to the bakehouse and I hid and watched them talk. 'E got very angry with 'er and 'e... 'e..."

"Killed 'er." Dodger finished solemnly, taking off his hat.

Toby nodded, tears finally falling from his eyes.

"Burned 'er alive."

Silence.

"I climbed out of the sewers and killed Mr. Todd with his own razor. I didn't know what to do, so I ran." Pause. "That was yesterday."

Toby began to sob. His entire body shook at the tears poured from his eyes. Dodger came over and wrapped his arm around him.

"I'm sorry, Toby." He said, but Toby barely heard him.

All he saw were bodies.

All he smelled was fire.

All he heard were screams.


	4. Chapter 4

Dodger held on to Toby until he ran out of tears. After Toby had stopped crying there was a long silence.

"We've lost someone, too." Said the same curly-haired boy who'd spoken before.

"Charlie!" Dodger said exsasparatedly. "Don't bring 'er up now!"

"It's alright." Toby said, wiping the lat few tears from his eyes. "Who did you lose?"

Almost simultaniously, every boy in the group who was wearing a hat removed it and clutched it to his heart.

"'Er name was Nancy." Dodger said, his voice breaking slightly.

"And what was Nancy like?" Toby asked, grateful for the distraction.

Dodger grinned, along with many of the other boys.

"Oh she was amazing. A lot like your Mrs. Lovett, actually. She was kind and friendly and loved all of us." Dodger's smile faded. "She also loved a man who didn't treat 'er right."

Toby nodded.

"And did 'e...?" He trailed off.

Tears immediately sprung to Dodger's eyes. He nodded vigerously. Charlie came over to console his friend.

"Bill Sykes was 'is name. 'E's dead now, too, but that was 'is own fault."

Murmurs of agreement met this remark.

"I'm sure Mr. Todd is rottin' away in 'ell with 'im right now!" A boy in the crowd shouted, a comment thatwas followed by cheers from everyone but Toby. He couldn't cheer because he knew his mum was right down there with them.

That night, as Toby lay mext to a snoring Dodger, he began to think about this place. They hadn't kicked him out when he'd said that he'd killed a man, and tey'd been there for them while talking about Mrs. Lovett. They confided in him about Nancy and the place seemed safe enough.

Just then, half asleep, Dodger rolled over.

"Are you goin' to stay 'ere, Toby?" He asked, sleep slurring his words.

Toby made a descision in that moment. He removed Dodger's top hat (which he'd left on while sleeping) and looked at him.

"Yes I will." He told him.

Dodger smiled


End file.
